Ivanhoe have kept their place in the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 top five intact after an important 36-point win over Kinglake at Kinglake Memorial Oval.
The Hoers got off to a flyer with the first three majors of the afternoon and were never headed thereafter in the 14.12 (96) to 10.0 (60) triumph.
No fewer than 11 Ivanhoe players hit the scoreboard, with playing coach Wayne Schultz leading the way with three goals.
His first major was a long bomb from well outside fifty which just cleared the pack and bounced through to kick-start his team’s scoring in the second term. A four-goal to one quarter leading into half time gave the visitors a decisive break of 25 points.
After scoring became difficult early in the third term, a goal to Jack Keyhoe blew the lead out to 32 points and a huge win by the Hoers looked a distinct possibility.
But evergreen forward Leigh Gilbert stepped up with a goal against the trend of the game. It broke a sequence of ten unanswered scores by Ivanhoe either side of half time.
He soon had another thanks to fellow veteran Shane Harvey. Harvey marked at about the edge of his range and immediately turned his back on the goal, and after most players had retreated to the goal line, Harvey turned around and chipped a pass to Gilbert closer in for an easy major.
It sparked a comeback and the Lakers booted four of the last five goals of the third term to trail by just 15 points going into the last change.
It could have almost five out of six when Gilbert marked on paint of 50 and elected to try a pass rather than have a shot. The pass was negated by a good spoil as the three quarter time siren blew.
Nonetheless as Kinglake took significant momentum into the three quarter time break, as coach Dave Florance delivered an emotionally charged and entertaining address to his players.
Across in the other huddle, Wayne Schultz was urging his team to get back control of the contest as they looked to extend their advantage again.
The locals could sense the possibility of a great come-from-behind victory in the offing. But Connor O’Brien stuck a tackle, won the free and converted the shot to score the vital first major of the final term for the Hoers.
Soon after, his teammate Jamie Lay intercepted an errant kick-out and slotted the goal from just inside 50.
This blew the lead out to 28 points and, despite the Kinglake players fighting tooth and nail to the end, the deficit was too great to chase.
Damian Pywell intercepted an Ivanhoe pass and snapped a great goal under pressure, his fourth of the afternoon, to give the locals a brief glimmer of hope with the margin reduced to 22-points at the seven-minute mark.
But a goal a few minutes later to Lucas Keyhoe slammed the door shut on any comeback for the home side.
“We came to play simple footy, get the basics right, be strong around the contest and that got us the result today,” Ivanhoe coach Wayne Schultz said.
Schultz loved the blue-collar work of Matt Presutto, who gained plenty of metres across half back. Midfielder Daniel Jones also got a tick for his transition work, while Jack Keyhoe was praised for his forward pressure.
Kinglake had periods of significant momentum, but they were unable to sustain those stanzas for long enough to grab the win.
The Lakers booted the last three goals of the opening quarter and also finished off the third term with impetus, but, overall, the Hoers were the more polished side.
“With the personnel out, the boys dug in and fought hard all day, but we were outclassed in the end,” Kinglake coach Dave Florance said.
Florance named Mason McAllister as a clear best for the team. He was also impressed by Rye Johnson in defence and Bailey Robinson in the centre.
The experienced duo of Leigh Gilbert and Shane Harvey too were praised, with Harvey spending his day rotating between midfield and defence.
Some Lakers missing from the recent win over Reservoir were Jed Tyrrell, Tom Clarke and Rohan King, and while the inexperienced replacements worked manfully, they were no match for their opponents throughout the afternoon.
